Seattle Surprisingly Wins on Road

My schedule has been quite hectic, but I’m actually pleased I didn’t get an opportunity to post much before yesterday’s game in Chicago.

Had I posted anything, it would have been focused on impending doom and gloom. Playing on the road, I expected the Seattle Seahawks to get bludgeoned by the Bears at Soldier Field.

The Chicago Bears were 4-1 entering Sunday’s game against the Seahawks. The Seahawks, 2-2 prior to the matchup, had yet to win a game outside of Qwest Field.

In two away games, the Seahawks had only scored 17 points. Their average margin of defeat on the road was 17 points per game. Losing by an average of three scores is bad, but box scores didn’t justify what really happened – the Seahawks were easily disposed of by opposing teams away from Qwest.

Was there any reason to think the Seattle Seahawks could beat the Chicago Bears on the road? Through the first quarter of the 2010 NFL season, the Bears were one of the better teams in the NFC.

History wasn’t on Seattle’s side, either.

The Seahawks had not defeated a playoff team on the road since December 12, 2004, when they beat the Vikings in Minnesota by a score of 27-23. That season, the Seahawks finished 8-8 and lost in the first round of the playoffs.

Before Sunday and since 2008, the Seahawks were 3-15 in road games and lost by an average of 20 points. The Seahawks haven’t been very competitive anywhere since 2008, but the road woes were obvious.

Following Seattle’s road losses this season, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck received a majority of blame for inconsistent play. Most of the criticism was justified, as Hasselbeck was only 1-13 with a quarterback rating of 67.9 in his  past 14 road starts.

In yesterday’s win, Hasselbeck completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 242 yards and a touchdown. He did not throw an interception. His passer rating of 87.7 was far better than his typical output away from home.

The Seahawks received a lot of criticism through the first four games of the season. Yesterday, however, the team proved they can compete as a playoff-caliber football team and will continue to improve.

In the NFC West, anything is possible – even a playoff game at Qwest Field.

Shaun Dolence: dolencesm@gmail.com
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